JCPS leadership will present a boundary change recommendation to the Jefferson County Board of Education on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 impacting Echo Trail and Crosby Middle schools.
The change is necessary because Echo Trail Middle School is facing a critical overcrowding issue. The school is currently operating at 117% of its optimal capacity, making classroom space and resources tight for our students.
If no changes are made, enrollment is projected to hit 133% for the 2026-27 school year, exceeding the acceptable operating range. Meanwhile, nearby Crosby Middle School is under capacity, operating at 75%.
To address this challenge, JCPS is moving forward with presenting a boundary adjustment recommendation to the Jefferson County Board of Education. The plan moves students living north of I-64 and west of Valhalla Golf Club to Crosby Middle School beginning in the 2026-27 school year. If your student is currently enrolled at Echo Trail Middle School, they will not be impacted. This proposal is the most effective and least disruptive path forward and will move both schools closer to the ideal 100% capacity target while providing a cushion for future community growth in the area.
JCPS leadership reviewed several alternative scenarios, but they all created new problems:
Transferring the Problem: Some alternatives would have simply moved the overcrowding issue to Crosby, pushing it to 115% capacity.
Creating Confusion: Other options would have required creating new, complex "feeder pattern splits" (which determine which middle school feeds into which high school), disrupting the work we've done to simplify the system.
The proposed boundary change is the cleanest solution that allows us to manage capacity now, without complicating the high school feeder system.
While a comprehensive boundary review for all schools is expected for the 2028-2029 school year, this immediate action is required to ensure a quality learning environment at Echo Trail and get schools closer to the optimal capacity target.
Moving forward, we will have a stronger process for boundary change announcements. Here is our new Boundary Change Feedback Timeline.